Post-Holiday Cooking: Here’s a Quick & Easy Sausage & Egg Pie Recipe

From stuffing, basting, patting, pricking, roasting and toasting, most of us foodies who refer to the holiday season as the “Olympics of Family Cooking,” have taken a deep sigh of gratitude for the love and joy that was shared amongst our family and friends.

All the gifts have been opened, clothes tried on (and modeled on the living room runway) and Google Home was streaming music at our demand when I noticed that I was starving! But, I was also tired and didn’t have the energy to create breakfast, lunch, or dinner.  But clearly, we all needed to eat.

So, here is a quick go-to recipe I like to use that comes loaded with the right amount of nutrition, salty savoriness, and warmth.  This pie oozes with comfort and cozy post-holiday sit-around-the-house goodness.  I like to think of it as a“linner“ (lunch and dinner) dish or a classic brunch dish too.

– Don’t worry, you’re not required to make your own pie crust, I promise.

Ingredients:

1 Pie Crust (for the inquiring minds, yes, I used the type you buy and roll out).
1 tablespoon of butter
1 good-sized shallot, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
4-6 sun-dried tomatoes loosely chopped
8 ounces of Italian sausage or chicken sausage (remove the outer skin and crumble)
1 three-finger pinch of sea salt
1 pinch of oregano or thyme (or both)
3 – 4 handfuls of fresh spinach or kale
2 cups of freshly grated California cheddar cheese
4 eggs, beaten
1 cup of heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit

Melt the butter in a large saute pan over medium heat and saute shallots and garlic until translucent. Add salt, oregano and thyme. Add the crumbled sausage, sundried tomatoes, and cook until browned. Add the spinach or kale and cook until the greens wilt and set aside.

In a pie dish roll out the pie crust and pinch the edges.   Add 1 cup of cheese on the bottom and then add the sausage mixture on top of that.

In a mixing bowl whisk together the eggs and heavy cream and 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese (you can also use almond milk or any other milk/cream variation).  Season with a pinch of sea salt and mix well.  Pour the egg mixture over the sausage mixture.  Top with the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese.  I also added a little extra romano in this pie – I mean, can you blame me?  Take a brush and lightly coat the edge of the pie crust with some of your egg mixture for a crispy finish.  (not too much).

Place your pie on a baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes or until an inserted toothpick or knife comes out clean.  Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

Special thanks to Mele Cotte for the inspiration of this recipe.  I use it in many reincarnations.

Here is one I made with Kale

Need A Snack For Game Night? Ham & Swiss Sliders Are Simply Delish!

I totally snagged this recipe off the internet but was short on the poppy seeds, so I made up for it by swapping out the dried onions for shallots and adding a bit more butter.  Butter makes everything better!

These may be small in size but they more than make up for it in taste.  They’re perfect for game night with friends and family!

Ingredients

3/4 cup melted butter
1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons poppy seeds
1 tablespoon minced shallots
24 mini potato rolls
1 pound thinly sliced cooked deli ham
1 pound thinly sliced Swiss cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish.
In a bowl, mix together butter, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, poppy seeds, and minced shallots. Separate the tops from bottoms of the rolls, and place the bottom pieces into the prepared baking dish. Layer about half the ham onto the rolls. Arrange the Swiss cheese over the ham, and top with remaining ham slices in a layer. Place the tops of the rolls onto the sandwiches. Pour the mustard mixture evenly over the rolls.
Bake in the preheated oven until the rolls are lightly browned and the cheese has melted, about 20 minutes. Slice into individual rolls through the ham and cheese layers to serve.

Love Thy Neighbor with Chocolate Banana Nut Bread

Chocolate Banana Nut Bread, Photo by Jason Homa

I discovered my love for the warm buttery goodness of banana bread following a trip to New York City.  I was staying with my stepmom’s mother, Fania Stone, then in her eighties; still going to work everyday as a textile designer, with silver-white hair cut in a stylish pixie.   She was a delight and quick as a whip on walks to the Farmers Market at Union Square.  We used to walk there on the weekends from her apartment in Gramercy Park to get our fruits and vegetables.

Fania was an avid reader, an eloquent pianist and painter.  Her foyer was filled with books.  Amidst the novels and art books was a small little cook book.  In it I found the recipe for Banana Nut Bread.  I baked it for us weekly and we enjoyed it each night with a little butter on one slice coupled with a hot cup of tea over a highly competitive game of Scrabble.  I learned so much from her about art, culture, music, literature and good wholesome food.  My time with Fania will stay in my heart indelibly as a precious and momentous life experience.

Over the years I’ve tweaked the recipe a bit – adding a little hint of vanilla, lemon or some other variation of spice or fruit depending on the season, my mood or just what I had on hand in the kitchen that day.

Today’s recipe was made with a bit of chocolate and some rich vanilla and coconut.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Chocolate Banana Nut Bread

Pre-heat oven to 325

3 Ripe Bananas
1 Cup Sugar
1 Egg
4 Tablespoons Melted Butter (salted)
2 Tablespoons Virgin Coconut Oil
1 1/2 Cups Flower
3 Teaspoons of Cocoa Powder
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Cup Chopped Walnuts
1 Cup Dark Chocolate Chunks

Mix all wet ingredients in larger bowl
Mix dry ingredients in smaller bowl
Fold dry into wet ingredients

Grease and flour large bread loaf pan or 2 small pans
Pour batter into pan(s)
Bake for 1 hour
Check with toothpick in the center to make sure it is cooked all the way through.  Toothpick should come out clean.

What I did with the recipe today was divide it into two smaller loaf pans and checked them at 45 minutes and 55 minutes.  I took them out as soon as the toothpicks came out clean (a little under an hour).

One bread stayed home for Jason and I and the second made the perfect #WelcomeHome #gift for our #lovely #neighbor #Sophie who just arrived from the hospital after a bad fall.  Happy to say she is on the mend, and like Fania, she has strength and vitality beyond her age.

Photo by Jason Homa Photography 

#LoveThyNeighbor

#ILoveMyFamily

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Delicious Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Nothing like the toasty goodness of sweet and salty brussels sprouts, oven roasted and served over barley with shaved grana padana and lemon.  Jason’s been working all day repairing a wall in the kitchen that suffered greatly last rainy season and I’m trapped in the office doing a close reading of The Death of Ivan Ilyich, by Leo Tolstoy.  So a couple of things have been brewing here.  Firstly, our appetites and secondly, the mound of paint brushes, spackle tubs, dust and plastic covering over my spices , silverware and dishes.

To squelch the first tide, I squeezed into the fridge, dug out of the vegetable drawer the first thing I could grab.  Out came my little martian heads (that’s what I call them) and I grabbed a bag of barley from under the plastic (E.T. phone home).  Into my mini rice-cooker from my dorm days at I-House went 1 cup of pearl barley (just enough for the two of us) and 2 cups cold water, turned that on and wriggled my way to the kitchen sink where I washed and trimmed the sprouts.

Using a glass Pyrex roasting dish, I tossed the little heads into the pan with 1/4 cup shaved almonds, 1/8 cup dried cranberries, about 3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, Portuguese sea salt, pepper, 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper, 1 tbsp. brown sugar and half the juice of a juicy Meyer’s lemon.  I’d already pre-heated my oven to 400° F so I just put the pan in the oven and set my timer for 35 minutes.

If you do this just the way I did, scattered and all, your barley should be done around the same time as your brussels sprouts.  From here I just fluffed my barley with 1 tbsp. unsalted butter, served into 2 pasta dishes and set aside.  Taking my sprouts out of the oven, I sprinkled a pinch of sea salt over them and dished them up over the barley.  Topping all of this toasty goodness, I shaved my favorite Italian hard cheese, grana padano, over each dish.

This proved to be the perfect late afternoon, pick-me-up snack for the two of us.  It’s full of nutrients and vitamins and the barley is a great way to keep my tummy from rumbling because it has to work hard to digest.

Jason is the first to admit to my girlfriend Laura, that he is a lucky man to have someone who cooks for him daily.  That being said,  I too must admit, that I am a very lucky woman to have such a handsome and loyal customer to cook for.

Oatmeal Cookies with French Apricots and Dark Chocolate Chips

Photo by Jason Homa

Fall is one of those seasons that conjures up images of warm cable-knit sweaters, brown leather boots, and things that I just want to cuddle up with.  My children,  a good movie or a great book; or my boyfriend, a warm fire and some great music; either way this cookie is an excellent companion to either night in.

Here is my take on the traditional Oatmeal Raisin Cookie.  Instead of using raisins, I chop up  succulent dried French Apricots and add them to my batch.  The color is a rich amber gold and the texture is both chewy and sweet, which complement the crispy edges of the oatmeal cookie.  This particular batch was made specifically for my sweetheart.  He and I both love dried apricots in just about anything.  A batch of these are the perfect gift for your host with the most this Thanksgiving.

Show up with these and guests just might forget about the pumpkin pie.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup salted butter (1 stick plus 6 tbsp.) at room-temperature
• 3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs (or egg substitute of 1 tbsp. cornstarch & 2 tbsp. water per egg)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups of quick or old-fashioned, uncooked Oats
• 1 cup chopped dried French Apricots
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 1/2 cups large dark chocolate chips or semi-sweet chocolate chunks

Instructions:

1.  Heat oven to 350°F.  In a large glass bowl, beat butter and sugars on medium speed or by hand until creamy and well blended

2.  Add eggs and vanilla; continue to beat ingredients until mixed well

3.  In a separate smaller bowl, mix flour, baking soca, cinnamon and salt; mix well, combining all ingredients and working out any lumps in the flour.  Add combined mixture to wet ingredients and mix well.

4.  Add apricots, walnuts and chips; mix well

5.  Add oats and continue to mix all well together

6.  Drop dough by by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.  I will also set aside half my batter and roll into waxed paper to freeze; thawing and cutting into 1/2 inch circular slices and baking.

7.  Bake 8 – 10 minutes or until light golden brown.  Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to cooling rack or flattened brown paper bag .  I like to let them cool very little and enjoy them while the chocolate is still oozing and warm.

8.  Store in a tightly closed container.  Makes about 4 dozen delicious cookies.

Photo by Jason Homa

Something else to try:

At Christmas time I like change the cookie recipe up with dried cranberries and cocoa powder.  In the next month or so I will post a picture of those with the slight variation of the recipe.

Enjoy!!

The best complement I could receive was this picture Catherine Garvey Simon sent me after she and her babies baked oatmeal cookies using my recipe! Thanks Catherine!